It was a classic tale of two halves in Van Meter last night as Pella Christian used a huge second half to beat Van Meter 34-19.

Trailing 19-7 at halftime, the Eagles benefitted from the return of several starters to their lineup in the second half who had been out for disciplinary reason and scored 27 unanswered points, 20 of which came in the third quarter to get the win. Pella Christian scored first on a 44 yard pass and run from Kyle Nikkel to Alex Fynaardt in teh first quarter, but from there Van Meter dominated the rest of the first half with 19 unanswered, all in the second quarter as quarterback Alex Gillmore was unstoppable scoring three touchdowns and ate up the Eagle defense play after play.

The Eagles defense set the tone early in the third quarter forcing back to back fumbles both leading to scores, a three yard run by Bret Nieuwsma and a 19 yard return by Colin DeBruin which put Pella Christian back on top 20-19 with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter. Kyle Nikkel connected with Trey Hugen with just under a minute to go in the quarter to extend the lead to 27-19, then Sam Tvedt added a three yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Meanwhile the energized Eagle defense held the Bulldogs to under 100 yards in the second half.

The Eagles racked up 449 yards in total offense, including 265 on the ground led by Bret Nieuwsma who returned to the lineup in the second half and rushed 23 times for 152 yards and a touchdown and recorded seven tackles on defense, Caleb Morgan rushed for 70 yards in the first half. Quarterback Kyle Nikkel was 15-28 through the air for 184 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Pella Christian finishes their non district schedule 2-0 and will open Class 2A District 8 play at home hosting Bondurant Farrar next Friday night.